Health and Mental Health

Anatta is pleased to be funding an exceptionally innovative educational initiative offered by the Israel Association for Self-Psychology’s Adam Campus in Lod, Israel. Lod is a city that has suffered especially from economic deprivation, leaving many of its residents without adequate institutional support with regard to essential needs such as housing, work and education. The Adam Campus seeks to alleviate this situation in two ways. First, it provides free psychoanalytic therapy to residents of Lod, thus aiming to provide them with a much-needed space to unwind, reflect and work through problems with the help of supportive professionals. Second, it is the seat of the IASP’s ground-breaking Psychoanalytic–Buddhist training programme, an advanced course for mental health professionals seeking to expand their palette of skills. The programme takes the view that psychoanalysis and Buddhism – modern and ancient, Western and Eastern – can enhance each other, creating a potentially transformative, holistic approach to the human psyche. Adjacent to the programme are training courses for Lod’s professional officers in the areas of education, mental health, culture, welfare and community support, in an effort to embed effective novel practices in the city’s approaches to these issues.

Established in 1978, Woman to Woman is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence. The organization houses abused women and their children in its Jerusalem shelter and closely supports them throughout their rehabilitation, providing free legal aid, halfway housing and continued assistance once victims are ready to live on their own. The shelter can accommodate up to 15 women and 30 children at a time and about 70 women and 140 children pass through its doors every year. It is open to women from all walks of life, from teenagers to senior citizens, religious and secular Jews to Christian and Muslim Arabs, and new immigrants to veteran Israelis, who are referred to the organization by social welfare authorities, hospitals or the police. Woman to Woman is funded in part by the Israel Ministry of Social Affairs and relies on donations and volunteer work for the rest. Anatta is proud to support it in its life-saving work.

jerusalemshelter.org.il

Harmony village (Kfar Izun) is an innovative and unique treatment and rehabilitation village, the first of its kind in Israel and around the world. The village provides a therapeutic community for backpackers and young people in crisis between the ages of 18-40, most of whom come from normative-functional backgrounds and are now defined as "dual diagnosis", that is, drug abuse combined with mental impairment. The studies show that the success rate is more than 90%. The uniqueness of the village is expressed in a holistic approach, which combines Western and Eastern treatment theories in an open place, located on the beach in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere with lots of warmth and love.

www.izun.org.il

The Assistance Center for Victims of Sexual Assault in the Sharon area was established about 40 years ago in order to help and provide practical and emotional support for victims and their immediate surrounding, and accompany them throughout the hardships on the way to recovery. The center serves the entire population of the Sharon region and provides 24/7 assistance, 365 days a year through volunteer assistance that operates without compensation. Emotional support for victims via telephone helpline, online chats, personal meetings, support groups (on the continuum of Assist-treatment-rehabilitation), accompaniment in the legal process, assistance in submission of complaints and the exercise of rights.

The center also operates a number of initiatives in the fields of education, Advocacy and prevention of sexual violence, including: psychoeducational workshops for youth in formal and informal education, as well as for parents and educational staff; an anonymous chat line for girls and teens, providing answers to questions relating to sexuality, sexual and gender orientation and other issues concerning adolescents; advocacy programs for the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace; training for professionals in the field of welfare and geriatrics on sexual abuse in the elderly; training for therapists aimed at expanding the toolbox when they come to identify and treat victims of sexual assault.

The Anatta Foundation has supported the Center since 2020. The contribution of the foundation has helped the center carry out its main activities, one of which is and online assistance activity through the 1202 Colmila website, offering anonymous and immediate assistance to teens and young adults who have experienced or are still experiencing sexual abuse and are extremely lonely, in distress and sometimes even at risk. The service provides a safe environment for emotional support, eye level listening and free of judgment. Information is offered and referrals to carers and assistance center services are provided. These services shorten the time between the sexual assault and the referral for help and treatable, thus helping to stop the injury and prevent repeated victimization. Usually, the relationship does not end with a single chat and takes form in various other ways such as escort police intervention, hospitalisation, legal support, contact with a caregiver and support groups. In light of the fact that in the health system the wait for mental health treatment is very long and that there is an acute shortage of trained caregivers that are suitable in the field of sexual trauma, "1202 Colmila” is a lifeline for victims.

Anatta's donation helped run the "Summer Voice" project - anonymous chat for teens about healthy sexuality and adolescence, the first of its kind in Israel. In Israel the age at which youth and teens are becoming sexually active is going down. However, it is evident that in a large and considerable part of homes and families in Israel, there is still no discussion about sexuality and sex, and that there are topics about which teenagers do not feel comfortable talking to parents, friends or educational counsellors. The Voice of Summer provides an accessible, and discreet free channel of asking questions and its purpose is to enable youth to make informative and fact-based decisions in order to educe risk behaviours The Voice of Summer provides an accessible, discreet and free channel for asking questions. It aims to enable youth to make informed decisions based on facts and to reduce risky behaviours and sexual abuse. Our Educational Department expert instructors are trained specifically to provide solutions for dozens of young people.

Since its founding in 1991, Hillel has helped thousands of young adults who have left ultra-Orthodox communities (known as yotzim) to integrate into secular Israeli society. Upon leaving, yotzim are ostracized by their families, often facing social isolation and acute financial distress while struggling with huge gaps in education, preparedness for employment and lack of even basic knowledge of secular social norms. As the only organization in Israel to offer comprehensive services for this population, Hillel provides highly individualized support, beginning with housing assistance, counselling and community building, followed by long-term support with a focus on helping individuals set goals for their lives and giving them the tools to fulfil them. Hillel served roughly 1,800 people, aged 18 to 51, in 2019. It operates centres in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Safed, with plans to expand to the south of Israel over the coming years in order to reach more vulnerable people outside the country’s urban centres.

www.hillel.org.il

Every boy and girl deserves to enjoy their childhood years and live a good and safe life. However, this right is not granted to children from the refugee community living in Israel. Due to the danger asylum seekers experienced in their countries of origin, Israel respects international law and does not deport them to back to Sudan and Eritrea. But after more than a decade in Israel, they still do not have permanent status and equal rights. Elipelet Association aims to improve the lives of refugee children and give them a beneficial childhood, to enable their proper development and to bridge the gaps of the limited institutional capabilities and the acute needs of these children.

The association is apolitical and focused on providing emotional and educational assistance to children who are left without institutional assistance. Parents of asylum seekers' families work long hours in low-wage stressful jobs. Most toddlers, born In Israel live in makeshift dormitories established by African women, in small, neglected and sometimes run-down apartments in basements and rooms devoid of light and air. The children pass their day staring at the TV screen for a long time, without games and not much stimulation or enrichment activities, therefore they suffer from a severe lack of physical contact and attention. The Elipelet Association operates a network of clubs and an array of developmental therapies to help children bridge the gaps, to grow and realize their potential. The association cooperates with all parties, and with the assistance of hundreds of volunteers from across the social spectrum create a holistic and supportive shelter. This protective shelter takes into account all the needs of the children from morning to evening, from infancy to the end of elementary school, in and outside the home to enable every boy and girl from the community of the asylum seekers in Israel to dream and fulfill their dream while guaranteeing their physical and emotional well-being.

On October 7, 2023, the terrorist organization 'Hamas' carried out an unprecedented attack into Israel's territory. Nearly 2,000 individuals suffered torture, rape, and loss of life. 253 hostages, the youngest only 9 months old, were kidnapped to Gaza. Each victim of this horrific attack, has a close circle of family and friends around them suffering from trauma. Some people have not left their houses, others have developed severe anxiety disorders, dealing with intense grief – with little hope of returning to any kind of normalcy in their lives.

Numerous initiatives have sprung up mainly providing short-term treatment. Government support and resources are limited and ONLY available for first degree relations of people who were murdered or taken hostage, for the injured or for those who returned from captivity. Per above, the actual need is much greater, and estimated at approximately 10,000 people. We believe that to build emotional resilience in our society, those in need of mental healthcare must receive professional, quality and long-term support.

Through its First Line Med project, the Anatta Foundation is providing long-term mental health support beyond government funding for victims of the October 7th events, including those who returned from captivity, first, second- and third-degree family members of the murdered and the hostages, survivors of the Nova massacre, and people who held safe room doors for hours and many more. This long-term therapy is conducted solely by certified therapists, amongst the best in Israel, who have extensive experience with trauma and bereavement and with the deep level of understanding and expertise needed to make a difference. The professional team supervising by senior Israeli therapists– Prof. Orfit Shapira-Berman, Prof. Merav Roth and Iris Gavrieli-Rahabi.

For more information / to make a tax-deductible donation to this Anatta Foundation project, please contact:
flm.israel2023@gmail.com